Best tire choice for a Tacoma?? Two questions~

[mastercaster]

Heard what a lot of guys are running on their full size trucks on the other tire thread but was wondering what others are running on their smaller mid-size trucks like Tacomas, Frontiers, etc. and are they happy with their performance, as well as their wear and tear?

My second question is whether or not anyone, mid-size truck or larger, has gone State side (Bellingham, etc.) to buy their tires?..... is there money to be saved or is it more hassle than it's worth?

[Steeleco]

Make sure your tire size is both AT rated and has the winter Triangle. The winter Triangle is going to be an issue in the future IMHO. Without it, you'll be needing two set of tires and rims, not many have the cash for that. The 20" BFG's on my F150 are AT's but aren't winter rated. NON of the Bridgestone 20" tires are winter rated or AT rated. Don't put "P" rated tires on a truck that is going to see lots of logging roads, the sidewalls are weaker and may be more susceptible to punctures.

My next tires are going to be Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's
http://www.goodyear.ca/tire/wrangler-duratrac/

[reach]

Still running the venerable BFG AT KOs on my stock Ranger. They're wearing like iron - I'm very happy with them. Never been stuck yet. (Carry a winch, shovel etc. but haven't had to use it, including on the Sande road in wet weather...) Now that they're over half worn after 4 years or so (!) they're not so good in the snow, so I started using dedicated winter tires last year.

When it comes time to replace in the next year or two I'll have a tough decision. Stick with tried & true old technology, or go with something newer like the Revos, Goodyear SilentArmor, Geolandar etc.

As for crossing the border - my girlfriend bought a set of BFG ATs for her F150 from Discount Tire (I think) in Washington. Total bill was < $600 CAD. Quotes from Canadian dealers were > $900 CAD. That was back when the exchange was much worse than today, too. If I still lived close to the border I would seriously consider it. I would love to support Canadian businesses but not for a 50% premium.

[mijinkal]

I've run BFG AT's on an '88 Ranger, '85 4runner and now my '05 Sierra. The AT's I have on the Sierra have the snowflake on them and I think they handle very well in the snow. I'm an avid snowboarder and put on at least 30 days at the mountain per season, so my truck sees a lot of snow. The tires wore very slow when they were on my lighter trucks compared to my Sierra. I've taken them through the flats at Stave Lake, rock crawling and up steep snowy slopes. The tires do hold the mud in but it's easy to clean them out by stepping on the gas a little harder. There's a reason they're the #1 AT tire.

As for buying tires in the states, I go to Costco for a few reasons. They're cheaper than the competition down there, and the warranty is valid and usable at Costco locations in Canada (I've used the warranty here)
If you live close to the border, it's worth your time to take the drive south.
It's up to you if you want to declare the tires at the border. You can pay an extra 12% HST or risk being blacklisted if you're caught lying to them. Although, border guards generally don't think muddy or dirty tires look new ;)

[Tikatack]

I have Nitto Terra Grapplers on my 09 taco: with 35K, lots of highway and offroad. the guy at Caltire recommended them over the usual suspects and they're great thus far. One big nail caused a flat so I really don't count that. Tread is wearing really well, still about 75%. They're priced right too. I picked them because they didn't have anything else in stock the day I bought my truck and I wanted to get off pavement with the new ride right away. It was a good decision.

[Squamch]

Alot of guys order tires in the states and pick em up from seawings. I've seen more bfg sidewall failures than any other tire. If I could afford it, I'd go with the wrangler m/t's with Kevlar.

[longwalk]

Good deals Stateside if you live close enough to use a freight forwarder instead of shipping them across the border. I put Yokohama Geolanders on my truck this spring. Locally $350.00 ea. Ordered them from across the line for $201.00 ea. Paid a bit of duty and my taxes and had them put on at a local tire shop. Big savings.

[stroh72]

2010 Tacoma 43,000 km Toyo AT 75% wear. No complaints what so ever 265/70/17 10,000 km off road 33,000 highway. Would definately buy again.

[Steeleco]

Not sure about all tire makers, but within the last two years BFG had a spat with our Canadian MOT. For a spell they lost the ability to put the winter triangle on their BFG Ko's I happened to need tires on our "new to us" truck and bought tires that were "without" the triangle. Didn't know they'd lost it till they were mounted? If your shopping make sure the triangle is on the tire. There is a run of tires out there that don't have it. Some of the older stock may be on sale. This might be why. Trying to explain the politics of the battle BFG had to some inspector at a mountain road check isn't going to get you past the check point!

[Mountaintop]

A few years ago I was down south and bought a set of tires at Big O for my Blazer. The old ones were worn out so just had the new ones mounted and left the old ones there. Saved about 30% if I recall correctly. Might not be worth it with time to go down and overnight stay just for tires but there is a Cabela's in Lacy, Washington, just a bit south of Seattle and I hear they plan to open another in Tulalip (Marysville), WA next year. Hit them both and that should make the trip worth it.

[fuzzy]

I am running Duratracs on my 09 TRD CC, I am very happy with these tire, they are 12 ply and E-rated. These tires are also winter rated which makes things nice for the winter time. I have about 20 000 kms on em and they are wearing great. As an offroad tire they will more than do for anything I will put the taco through. The road noise is negligble and I would buy these tires again in a heart beat.
Fuzzy

[WaderGator]

Had BFG AT's on my 06 ranger. I was really unimpressed with the performance especially in the snow. the tread did last a long time though. Also had BFG MT's on my 87 Full size Jimmy and again wasn't impressed. had a sidewall spontaneously blow out one day when it was parked outside my house. Needless to say I'll be going with a different brand when it comes time for new rubber. As for the question about buying in the states. I've priced out tires south of the border in the past and there is substantial savings. I've been told the price difference has something to do with importation levies in Canada. not sure if it applies but I bought new tires for my dirt bike down there and they were 59 bucks a pop as oppose to 159 in Canada. Another thing is that ive heard of shops reporting canadian cars getting new tires to the US customs. Not sure if theres any truth to that or not but maybe think twice if you planned on turfing the receipt and driving back across

[pappy]

I'm gonna buy some duratracs for my truck, I had them on my last truck (1/2 ton) and I was impressed with there handling on snow and they were good in mud too. I have had the geolander mud tires and they didn't last at all, I have had a few sets of bfg mud terrains and only one set didn't fall apart from the inside. I have had friends that had trouble with the cords letting go for their bfg's too, I will never buy another set. I know some guys have had good milage from toyo too.

[husky30-06]

Alot of guys order tires in the states and pick em up from seawings. I've seen more bfg sidewall failures than any other tire. If I could afford it, I'd go with the wrangler m/t's with Kevlar.
the same thing happened with me........major sidewall failure with the BFG AT, so i went to the RVT wildcountry. the RVT tire i really liked are no longer so i am looking to the wranglers MT with Kevlar!!!!! this is on my 97 GMC pickup

[Buckman]

About a month ago we headed down to Kalispell to get new tires at Tire-rama. They wanted $1100.00 out the door here and I got them for $563.00 out the door there. i got dinged at the border but still saved $400.00. They are Yokohama geolander 's. (6ply for my CR-v)

[tundra]

Cooper stt all the way I have had these on my 2000 taco,2006 taco and my 2009 taco never had a problem performed excellent in snow and lasted a long time. To get around the snowflake rating all you have to do is carry a set of chains with you whether they are cables or chain that is all you are required to have by law.

[reach]

FYI I checked my records and I have 86,000 km on my BFG ATs on my Ranger so far and they still have a fair bit of tread left (maybe 3/16" to the wear bars).

[Crimson Viking]

I have goodyear wrangler duratracks on my ram 2500 , quite an aggressive tire , low road noise . and i am very happy with the performance

[mastercaster]

IMO before I make any recommendations I need more detail from the OP. What do you want from the tire - tread wear more important than performance? Are you a typical driver at >90% on pavement and <10% off-road? Do you head for the mud bogs every change you get? What is the terrain you tend to frequent when you get off the pavement? These types of questions help make sure your needs are met as often times asking a board to recommend a tire is like asking them to recommend an ice cream flavour. What I like you might not.

Some of my past experience -

For an all terrain (fair mix of terrain, mostly harder pack and rock - less mud) I've had good luck with the BFG A/T KO and previous non-KO, with one caveat. They wear well up to the 50% tread mark, then the rubber disappears in a hurry. I'm guessing the inner rubber is a softer compound than the outer casing. This is based on having four sets on our various vehicles (Toy X-cab and Jeeps XJ and ZJ and a Scout) over the years plus several friends vehicles. Apparently some BFG A/T's now carry the snowflake symbol.

Currently we have the Goodyear MT/R Kevlar on my wife's Cherokee in 285/75R16 - they're wearing well and performing decent off-road in mostly rock and some mud, decent on road for an aggressive tire. They're not snowflake rated, we run studded Nokian's for that.

I just put a set of Goodyear Silent Armour Wranglers on my Ram Dually ( I know not the same weight class but it sure can wear out tires) and they are winter snowflake rated. No winter report yet as they're only six months old. So far they're quiet on the pavement (no surprise), great in the rain and haven't left me stuck off-road. Granted that's only FSR's and mild wheeling with a camper on the back, typical for most hunters. For an all round tire if you can only have one set this may be worth a look. Keep in mind I'm only six months in to this set.

I've also had good luck with the Big-O line of tires. They carry a great warranty. When I tore out a couple side walls (no tires would have shrugged this damage off) they replaced them no questions other than to hear the story. No pro-rating of tread-life either, both were replaced with brand new tires.

If I can make a general recommendation that will help anyone get the most life out of their aggressive tread style tires it's ROTATION ROTATION ROTATION!. Nothing will cause your front tires to wear unevenly and 'cup' on the edges than not rotating.

Yes in my youth I worked in the tire industry and now my friends consider me a tire savant.

Good post.....I guess I should have mentioned how I use my truck.

I do spend a fair bit of time on the highway to get to my cabin. When I fish lakes in the nearby vicinity of it they are on 4x4 rugged roads that have some sizable, fairly sharp rocks. I also go to some lakes that have some pretty big water holes/puddles which can get pretty muddy. The roads I drove to hunt last year aren't usually as bad....just fricken narrow and not well travelled at times!!

Are far as flats go the last 3-4 I've had have all been in the city.....somehow nails and especially screws have a way of finding my tires but up until now I've only had the stock tires which are a pretty sad excuse for an off road vehicle (BFG Rugged Trail) on my '07 Tacoma. Hard to believe that's what they put on them when the trucks are new.

Thanks for all the input, gentlemen!!

[landphil]

I am running Duratracs on my 09 TRD CC, I am very happy with these tire, they are 12 ply and E-rated. These tires are also winter rated which makes things nice for the winter time. I have about 20 000 kms on em and they are wearing great. As an offroad tire they will more than do for anything I will put the taco through. The road noise is negligble and I would buy these tires again in a heart beat.
Fuzzy

Same here, E-rated duratrac's on my '06 tacoma, but I went against the wide-tire-is-cool theory and installed LT235/85R16's. Was great in 14+ inches of snow last winter, when other trucks could hardly get going. Then I chained up, and pulled a durango up a 5' bank and un-stuck a jeep. Time will tell on the tread wear, but they don't look too bad after about 15,000 km. Except E rated tires are 10 ply rated, not 12

[dukester]

working the costco gas station i ask every driver with theese Duratracs.. all say they are great in snow ice and mud. heavy deep sips in the large lugs is the key along with the fish scale design inbetween the treads to move and clear mud. .. you will be a little scared of the prices though.. yiks... second morgage.

[landphil]

you will be a little scared of the prices though.. yiks... second morgage.

Maybe shop around, they were one of the cheaper options I considered. I paid $1K out the door, taxes, etc all included.